Stuff You Should Know

You can make a case that it’s a little off-putting to learn the world doesn’t really have any idea what to do with the nuclear waste we’ve been generating for several decades. The best we’ve come up with so far is bury it real deep and forget about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientists believe that 99% of the estimated 50 billion species that have ever lived on Earth have disappeared through extinction. This is a natural process typically, but it can also be cataclysmic and it's becoming clear we are amid a massive one. Find out more with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Co-producer Ben knocked it out of the park again, taking the two classic horror stories we read for our annual Spooktacular - Caterpillars and The Deep Drowse – and creating a moody Halloween masterpiece for your spooky listening enjoyment. So enjoy it! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A legend in Tennessee tells of the real-life Bell family, who were haunted back in 1817 by a ghost witch - arguably the worst kind of either of those things. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There aren’t too many independent horror movies that make the British Film Institute’s 250 Best Films Ever Made list – AND – make an appearance in the teen comedy Summer School. That makes sense because there’s no other movie quite like The TCSM. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2005 a woman named Anna Alaya discovered a length of human finger – nail and all – in her Wendy’s chili. Her cries of disgust would set off a media firestorm, a criminal investigation and a prison sentence for her and her husband. Listen to Josh and Chuck go through the whole mess in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever thought much about screaming? Well we have, and today you'll learn everything we learned.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's seven years' bad luck for you if you break a mirror, buddy, sorry. But have you ever wondered why? People have come up with all sorts of great reasons since time immemorial. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Quick, name your favorite geological mystery. You can’t do it! Well, don’t worry. In this episode we’re going to tell you all about what will surely be your favorite (albeit only) one when we get into one weird millennium that happened not that long ago. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even though almost half of Americans believe in it, ESP usually is treated as a load of bull by skeptics. But some respected researchers have dared to apply the scientific method to investigate ESP and a few have found some surprising results. Find out all about it with Josh and Chuck in this classic episode.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we complete our music video duology with a dive into the mellow pool of VH-1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you died away from home but wanted to be buried there, don’t worry – Taoist priests had you covered. They’d just have your animated corpse walk itself back home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've ever wanted to hear a couple of Gen X'ers wax nostalgic about MTV, then you're in luck.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Schoolhouse Rock is possibly the best children's program of all time. Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode as they tell the story of SR, featuring an interview with Pavement's Bob Nastanovich, contributor to the '90s Schoolhouse Rock tribute record. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The concept of hospice was created as a way to help people with only a few weeks to live spend their last days comfortable an surrounded by friends and family in the hope they can pass away peacefully. It’s kind of crazy hospice was ever a radical idea. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that the "the call is coming from inside the house" urban legend may be based on a very grisly murder case from the 1950s? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The greatest period in the history of humankind took place in the short era between 1970 and 1995. During that time kids could tune in every Saturday morning between 8 and noon and find the most amazing cartoons ever created, plus tons and tons of ads. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody knows mail order marriages are at best a last resort for jerks looking to boss a foreign spouse around or, at worst, a front for human trafficking. Or are they? Yes and no. Mail order marriage comes with nuance and a surprisingly long history. Learn all about it in this classic episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in the early 1900s, a new pandemic happened out of nowhere with odd symptoms, that was never solved or cured. It just went away. Which means it's right up our alley.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we kick off the scariest month with the legend of La Lechuza - The Witch Owl. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seems ridiculously irresponsible with the benefit of hindsight, but the concept of giving Hitler everything he wanted was the policy among the UK and France as a way to keep the world from sliding into a second world war. Turns out it didn’t work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The secret military base Area 51 is inextricably linked to every secret, shady project the US government is rumored to be involved in – from reverse-engineering alien technology to coordinating a one-world government. The truth is much more mundane. Listen to this classic episode as Josh and Chuck break it down. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1922, a little farm in the woods of Bavaria became the site of what would become Germany’s most famous unsolved murder, when six people were brutally killed with a pick axe. What led up to it and followed is nothing short of bizarre. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Josh and Chuck live from Seattle as they (sky)dive into one of the most brazen robberies in the annals of crime and the only unsolved airline hijacking in American history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a small town in Iowa in 1912 eight people were murdered in the grisliest of ways while they slept. Local reputations were ruined when accusations flew, but could a drifting serial killer working across the Midwest have been behind it? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.